Sveum enjoys judging young talent against contenders

Cubs manager believes he can get solid assessment about certain players in tough situations

September 22, 2012|By Dave van Dyck, Chicago Tribune reporter

In September, the Cubs won five of their seven games against the Pirates, virtually eliminating them from the National League wild-card playoff race, and they nearly won the first two games this weekend against the Cardinals, who are trying to hold on to their wild-card spot.

The Cubs sneaked by in Friday's extra-inning victory, but they couldn't replicate Saturday, falling 5-4 in 10 innings.

That prompted manager Dale Sveum to say:

"All we want to do, whether we win or lose, (is have) guys battling and not making it easy on anybody. We've had some real quality at-bats and have done a really good job in some tough situations."

But the Astros, who appear destined to finish with the worst record in the major leagues, won nine of their first 19 games in September, which is more than they won in July and August combined.

It's easy for fans to get lulled into a false sense of optimism in September, when the pressure to win for bad teams is completely off.

But Sveum, who will have a huge say about which players return and which ones don't, says September actually can be a good time for evaluations, despite the old baseball saying that you don't trust player judgments based on spring training or September.

"You evaluate how people handle situations, game-winning situations, how they handle those at-bats," Sveum said. "You're not evaluating just the final result, you see which players can handle (pressure) situations.

"When you're playing in September and October and everything's on the line, you want players you can trust."

Games such as those against contenders like the Pirates and Cardinals are helpful for evaluation because the games are meaningful and have a feel of importance. But after Sunday, the Cubs will finish against non-contenders.

Good September performances can fool even the best talent judges, butSveum doesn't completely buy into that.

"It's no different than having a big June; it's a month in the big leagues," Sveum said. "Guys have great Septembers. That's part of the game. Not everybody is built to be in the Hall of Fame and hit .320 for six straight months."

How many roster spots next April actually will be filled by those who are on the roster now is questionable. But Sveum has lobbied for some veterans to fill obvious holes.

The Cubs did that last winter, signing players such as David DeJesus, who remains; Ian Stewart, who has been injured and ineffective; and Paul Maholm, who pitched well before he was traded to the Braves.

"It's not as easy as people think," Sveum said of picking the right veterans. "You have to find pieces of the puzzle, and they have to produce too.

"Everything (sometimes) looks good on paper, (but) you sign those pieces and they might have off-years. It's like gambling sometimes. It's not the easiest thing in the world. A lot of it comes down to luck. A lot of hard work, too, but you still need people to produce."